Lots of love for No. 1 Baylor in Big 12 honors
Kalani Brown (Baylor), Lauren Cox (Baylor), Bridget Carleton (Iowa State), Vivian Gray (Oklahoma State) and Tynice Martin (West Virginia) were all unanimous selections for the All-Big 12 First Team. Other major award winners were Kim Mulkey as the Coach of the Year for the seventh time since 2005, Carleton as the Player of the Year, Cox as the Defensive Player of the Year, Gray as the Newcomer of the Year, Chrislyn Carr (Texas Tech) as Freshman of the Year and Kari Niblack (West Virginia) earning the Sixth Man Award.
Baylor, Kansas State and West Virginia all had two players make the First Team ballot. The No. 1 Lady Bears, and undefeated in Big 12 action, also had two named to the Second Team and three to the All-Defensive Team. The full list of Big 12 awards can be found here.
It makes sense, because there was no shortage of highlights for Mulkey and the Bears this year. And there’s plenty more in store heading into March.
- An undefeated Big 12 conference season and outright title.
- A No. 1 seed projection in the NCAA Tournament.
- Mulkey named to the Naismith Coach of the Year ballot.
- A 28-1 record (their lone loss to Stanford).
- A 20-game win streak heading into the Big 12 Tournament.
- They have not lost a game in 2019 (last loss was December 15, 2018).
More from Big 12
- Your Day in Women’s Basketball, November 2: Shakeup in the ACC with Bollin commit, UNC retool
- Your Day in Women’s Basketball, October 21: Former Texas Tech coach Stollings files lawsuit
- Your Day in Women’s Basketball, August 9: Taurasi to play again, but when?
- Your Day in Women’s Basketball, August 4: Wubble Trouble for the Liberty
- Baylor adds UCLA transfer Jaden Owens
Carleton, a six-time Big 12 Player of the Week honoree, becomes the first Iowa State Cyclone to win the Big 12 Player of the Year award. She finished the regular season leading the league in scoring at 21.9 points per game. Cox led the Big 12 with 72 blocked shots, earning her Defensive Player of the Year honors for the second consecutive season. She joins Brittney Griner and Courtney Paris as the only other two-time honoree.
Right behind Carleton in scoring this season is Gray. Averaging 19.8 points per game, the Fort Lewis College transfer was a problem in the Big 12 all season long. This is the second year in a row Oklahoma State won Newcomer of the Year honors. Carr, the Big 12 Freshman of the Year, is averaging 17.5 points per game. She could become the third-ever Big 12 freshman to rank in the top-five in scoring average.
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